


Close to Home

by raexrae57



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-04-19 22:08:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4762811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raexrae57/pseuds/raexrae57
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the nature of the job, he tells himself, but when he finds his boss, his friend, in the street in front of their one safe haven he can't help but wonder how this could have happened.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was always so careful.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Close to Home

**Author's Note:**

> This work is part of the [Blackjack Universe.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4762253/chapters/10889036) Please read that first.
> 
> Originally posted [here.](http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/923218/1/close-to-home-exo-chen-jongdae-joonmyun-suho)

He can't sleep.

 

Jongdae sat up in his bed, the clock on his bedside table reading 4:00 AM in red, angry numbers.  He hasn't had a sleepless night like this in a while, desensitized to most happenings during his time with X.O.  He can't help but wonder why, though.  Why is he sleepless now?

 

He rolled around in his bed for another twenty minutes, running through different possibilities through his mind.   _Stress?_   Possibly.  Byun Baekhyun was not making this job any easier, having neglected to take the kill shot against Park Chanyeol just hours earlier.  There was also no word from the newly suspended Lu Han either.  The whole situation made him feel somewhat uneasy.  Jongdae didn't know how Joonmyun could handle everything like he could.

 

_Joonmyun..._

 

The Park case was taking a toll on the other as well, Jongdae noticed.  Maybe his sleeplessness was brought on from worry.  A lot has gone down in the last day or two.

 

Jongdae rolled out of bed finally, deciding that sleep wasn't going to happen anymore.  He wandered over to his closet and started getting dressed for the day, deciding that the time he wasn't using on sleep would be better used at the office.  Joonmyun would be there anyway.

 

~~~

 

He parked his car in the back lot and walked around to the front of the bakery.  His uneasiness from earlier hadn't settled like the thought it would, and as he approached the store front, he knew it wouldn't.

 

The bakery door was wide open, something very uncharacteristic of Joonmyun.  He was always so careful.  Something wasn't right.

 

He made to reach for his gun, but the reflection in the glass told him it wasn't necessary.

 

Jongdae took tentative steps towards the body in the street.  He knew it was Joonmyun, but he needed to see for himself.

 

He couldn't describe the feeling that was welling up in his chest.  Confusion?  Hurt?  Sadness?  Anger?  He dropped to his knees next to Joonmyun and fought back the burning behind his eyes.   _How did this happen?  How long has he been here?  Who did this?_ Jongdae refused to cry, but the burn was becoming too much.  This was the nature of the job.  They ran a hitman organization, death was part of the job.  Yet...

 

Jongdae broke down.  It was still early enough in the morning that his screams wouldn't bother much of anyone.  This is Joonmyun, lying in cold blood in the middle of the street in front of their point of operations.  This was Joonmyun, someone he trusted with his life, someone who trusted him back.  Jongdae allowed himself this one moment of weakness.  This would be the only time he would allow it.

 

He needed to notify the others, but he needed to pull himself together first.   _Just one more minute..._

 

One more minute turned into five, and eventually he realized he needed to get out of the street.  Someone would show up, and the cleaner team needed to be there first before anyone of authority did.  He rose to his feet and pulled his phone out of his pocket, wiping the tear tracks away and falling back into position as he dialed the number.

 

_Position..._

 

X.O was his now.  Jongdae didn't like how bitter that tasted.

 

_"...Hello?"_  
"Taemin, sorry, I know it's early..."  
_".....Jongdae?  What's up?"_  
"I need you to gather up SHINee and report to HQ.  Emergency situation."  
Jongdae didn't particularly like the silence on the other end of the line.   _"Do I need to prepare for anything?"_  
"It's Joonmyun."  Jongdae paused, Taemin's gasp sounding louder in his ear than necessary.  "Fill them in, but I need you here immediately."  
_"Yes, sir."_

 

The line cut, and Jongdae sighed.  He needed to call everyone now.

 

Jongin was probably the best option to start with, Jongdae reasoned as he dialed the number.  Jongin would be able to keep a level head once the news broke.  Baekhyun, not so much.  Not when it came to Joonmyun.  He mulled the words around in his head, wondering what the best approach would be.  Death was inevitable, and it was something they reported on regularly.  But this was Joonmyun.

 

_"This is Kai."_  
Jongdae froze for a moment.  
_"Chen?  It's 5:30 in the morning."_  
"Joonmyun is dead."  
Jongdae almost regretted the ripped band-aid approach with the silence he was met with.   _"....what?"_  
"Are you still on location?"  
_"Y-yeah.  Eyes and I have been switching off watch."_  
"Wake him.  I need you back at HQ immediately."  
_"Right away.  Should I pull RM out?"_  
"No.  Leave him to me."

There was a brief pause over the line, save for the rustling in the background of Jongin packing.

_"Sir, I-"_  
"Don't 'sir' me, Kai.  I'm not ready for it."  
_"Dae-"_  
"Don't.  Please, don't."  
_"Okay.  We'll meet you back at HQ."_

 

Jongdae heaved out the air in his chest as he hung up the phone.  The next call was going to have to be harsh.  He knew how Baekhyun was, knew that even though he's up close and personal with those he kills he can't handle when someone close gets hurt.  He dialed the number and gathered his courage and his words.  This had to be short and to the point, although it was anything but sweet.

 

_"Hello?"_  
"Joonmyun is dead."

Silence.  Just as expected.

"I'll deal with your inability to follow orders later, but we need you back at HQ immediately."  
_"O-Okay..."_

 

Jongdae hung up after that, not wanting to be on the line while Baekhyun processed it all.  He pushed the fringe out of his eyes and glanced back down at Joonmyun in the street as the cleaning team arrived.

 

 "Sir--"  Taemin started, but Jongdae cut him off.  
"Don't 'sir' me.  I'm not read for it.  
Taemin nodded, knowing to tread the situation lightly.  "How should we go about this?"  
Jongdae looked around and sighed.  "Robbery.  Trash the bakery, do what you need to do, but treat him with the utmost respect."  
"Of course."

 

Jongdae waited for Taemin to turn to the rest of the cleaning team before turning himself around to the bakery.  Everyone else was due soon.  He stopped and looked over his shoulder as Taemin called back to him.

 

"What is it?"  
"Body temperature reads his death to only be about a couple hours ago.  0400 at the earliest."

 

Almost two hours ago.  That made Jongdae feel sick.

~~~~

They all filed into the main office, Jongdae having taken his regular seat as opposed to the main seat.  That was Joonmyun's.  It would always be Joonmyun's.  He took notice of everyone's faces, all a mix of hurt, confusion, and anger.  He noticed the look on Baekhyun's face, and answered the question he knew was coming.

 

"We can't get a hold of him.  He's been unreachable since his suspension."

 

He took a look around at everyone, carefully thinking his words over as he took in their expressions.

 

"I wish I had answers for you guys," he started, "but I don't.  I found him on my way in this morning."  
"When?"  Jondgae didn't miss the crack in Sehun's usually steady voice.  
"Estimated time of death is 0400," Jongdae continued.  "The shots to the knee and arm came first, before the kill shot to the head was taken."  Jongdae paused.  "It would have been instant."

Jongdae let the words sit in the air before he continued.

"The cleaners are doing the best they can, but there's no way this can be covered as a suicide.  They've been ordered to trash the bakery to stage it as a robbery."

Jongdae shot a look towards Baekhyun at the choked sound he made.

"That's what I told Chanyeol when he asked about it," Baekhyun lamented.  
"We'll get to him later," Jongdae snapped, keeping his tone cold on purpose.  He needed to be strong for the team.  For  _his_  team.  "Right now, I need everyone to focus.  I know losing Joonmyun is devastating to everyone," he paused to gather his words, "myself included, but he would not want us to wallow over him like this.  Finding out who did this is taking priority."  He gave everyone a serious look with his next words.  "To hell with the buyer and the Park assignment."

 

The office door opened slowly, stopping whatever thought Jongdae had next.

 

"What is it, Taemin?"  
"I don't mean to interrupt, but we found something on Joonmyun that I thought was relevant."

 

He watched carefully as Taemin slid the playing card across the table, and he tuned the world out as the others started flying questions at each other.  How did he miss this?  The image of Joonmyun's body will forever be ingrained in his retinas, but how did he miss that playing card?

 

"So how many are in his inner ring now?"

He listened as Sehun ran off the code names for Blackjack's inner circle, only half paying attention to the names and Baekhyun's snide remarks.

"Run me up to speed on everyone in that ring."

 

This time he listened carefully, putting to memory the details of each member Baekhyun had rambled off.  He took note as how Baekhyun's voice changed the more the talked.  It was getting angrier by the word.  He also paid attention to how he and Sehun bounced off each other, filling in gaps of details the other had missed.  He wondered how Joonmyun did it, how he got this team to work so well with each other.  He leaned back in his chair and observed as they finished off reciting their notes, politely rejecting Sehun's offer for a hard copy of everything.

 

"We'll have to assume that the Five of Diamond's ran your background deep enough to uncover our little secret," Jongdae started as he leaned forward in his chair.  All eyes were on him.  "This is clearly a direct attack on X.O.  It'd be one thing if Park just outright killed you, Baekhyun, but he's toying with you.  If they killed Joonmyun outside the bakery, we have to assume this place has been discovered and we need to relocate.  And destroy the evidence."

He shot Baekhyun a look as he scoffed.  "How do you supposed we do that?  The police are going to be all over this place to pick up Myun."  
Jongdae recalled a fond memory of him and Joonmyun, and his eyes lit up.  "There's only one way to get into the vault now, and I have Joon's word to do it."  
"You're going to blow it down, aren't you?"  
Jongdae watched Baekhyun carefully as he rose to his feet and continued.  "It'll look like a gas leak, and still somewhat tie in with the robbery cover.  I can set a small concentration off to get the door open, get what we need out of the vault, and then set the whole thing off once the police begin to swarm."  
Jongin hesitated slightly before he spoke.  "Should we clear out, sir?"  
Jongdae cringed and shot him a warning look.  "Yes.  Gather everything you can and relocate to the safe house."  
"With all do respect,  _sir_ ," Jongdae heard the tone change in Baekhyun now, "but I feel like Myun would want us to bare witness as you blow his agency to the ground."

 

You could hear a pin drop with how quiet the room became.  The air was tense, Baekhyun's seething finally coming to surface.  He gave a brief look to the others, and they all quietly filed out of the office to follow their orders, leaving Baekhyun and Jongdae alone.

 

"Baek, I know this is hard on you," Jongdae's shoulders visibly dropped.  "It's hard on all of us, but please don't fight me on this."  
"How can you fall into this position so easily?!  How are you not affected by this?"  
The accusations set Jongdae back, but he came back at Baekhyun just as bitter.  "You think I want to be in this position?"  Jongdae clenched his fists.  "This is the last job I want, especially under the circumstances."  
"Then at least look like you don't want it!"  
So that's where he was coming from.  Jongdae sighed and dropped his gaze to the ground.  "I shed my tears already."  He looked up to see Baekhyun's expression change.  "Joon wouldn't want all his hard work to go to waste, and if I have to act like I'm in control of myself, then that's what I'll do."

He waited for Baekhyun to say something, but there was no answer.  Just acceptance.

"Grab whatever you can and get out.  I have a vault to blow."

~~~~

He thought back to the vivid memory he had that night Joonmyun joked about the vault as he made his way down the hall with his blasting charges.  Their boss had retired, and appointed Joonmyun as their head.  The news came to a shock to everyone, wondering why someone at such a young age was being appointed such a high profile position.  As it turned out, that was precisely the reason.  Joonmyun was young, which meant he'd be around longer to keep the business afloat, his premature death notwithstanding.

 

He chuckled as the conversation came back to mind.

~

_"Dae, I don't want this position."_  
_"You don't really have a choice, Joonmyun."_  
 _"I should have a choice," Joonmyun argued as he knocked back another shot, his fifth for the evening.  "This is my life at stake."_  
 _"You won't even be on the field anymore," Jongdae argued back.  "I feel like you'll be in less danger sitting at the big desk than you are now."_

_The waitress came back around and set down the next round of shots, Joonmyun hardly waiting for the glass to hit the table before taking his.  Jongdae only sighed._

 

_"What did I do to deserve this?"  Joonmyun reached for Jongdae's untouched glass and remedied the problem.  "What sort of karma came around for me to be here?"_  
_"Myun, you're good.  You're good at what you do.  That's why you're here."_  
 _"You're good, too.  Why me?"  Joonmyun's speech was starting to slur._  
 _"I don't possess the leadership qualities that you do.  I'm more of a follower than a leader."_  
 _Joonmyun scoffed at that.  "Right, because I'm a perfect example of a leader for this kind of organization."_  
 _"You have the best track record on the team.  I'm not saying it's something to brag about, especially with what we do, but it is something that ought to be recognized.  We're young, and this is saying you're the best out there._ "

 

_He watched Joonmyun's head dip dangerously close to the table they were seated at.  This was a different side to Joonmyun he was used to seeing.  He was normally calm, collected, aware of his surroundings.  This Joonmyun was anything but.  He was disheveled, drunk, but mostly...._

 

_"You're scared, aren't you?"  
"Of course I'm scared," Joonmyun whined.  "I have every reason to be scared.  Being the head of an agency that _ murders _people is a scary thing.  People are going to be out for my blood now."_  
_"What do you want me to do?"_  
 _"Huh?"  Joonmyun looked shocked at the offer._  
 _"Tell me what to do.  What can I do to make this burden even the slightest bit easier."_  
 _Joonmyun paused and actually looked like he was deep in thought, as if the question sobered him completely.  "Be my second."_  
 _Jongdae stared at his friend in disbelief.  He wasn't expecting that, but the word "done" slipped over his lips before he had a chance to over-think it._  
 _"You can help me recruit the new agents, and keep me level headed when it becomes too much."_  
 _"Sure thing."_  
 _"I get access to the vault now, you know.  I finally get to see what the big deal is behind it."_  
 _"We know exactly what's behind that door, it's not really a huge secret..."_  
 _"Tell you what," Joonmyun kept going, his words really sounding slurred.  "As my second, you have my permission to access the vault in the event of my untimely death."_  
 _"Why would you even joke about that?  How would I get into it anyway?"_  
 _"Blow it up, for all I care."_  
 _Jongdae sighed and shook his head.  "C'mon boss, let's get you home."_

~

The joke sat bittersweet with him as he set the charges along the vault door.  It wasn't supposed to be like this.  Joonmyun was drunk and scared when he joked about the vault, and here he was, doing exactly that.  He double checked the charges and moved a safe distance away before detonating.  The smoke cleared, and the vault door swung open on it's broken hinges, just like he calculated.  He took quick but cautious steps over the debris and into the vault, looking at all the contents.

 

The diamonds, for sure, had to come.  They still needed leverage over Park Chanyeol.  Looking around at the vaults contents, he wasn't sure if anything else was necessary.  He grabbed the case that held the charges and sorted through some older case files, pulling out a few that were damning to the agency and shoved them inside.  He also grabbed the folders containing the personal information on the agents.  He briefly flipped through each one before stashing them in the case with the other things he'd been grabbing.

 

He paused as he flipped through Baekhyun's folder, the incomplete suspension paperwork being the piece of paper on top.  He sighed, wondering how and when he'd break that piece of news to Baekhyun.  Granted, it wasn't finalized, but if Joonmyun deemed it necessary, then he was going to complete it.  He closed the folder and shoved it in with the rest, and made his way towards the vault entrance.  Anything else, Jongdae rationalized, wasn't needed and was better off being buried in the rubble.  X.O was making a new start.

 

He grabbed the briefcase with the diamonds and stepped out after setting a new round of charges.  He walked back down the path he came from, stopping every now and then to place an explosive or two, before he finally set the last charge and wired everything together and to his switch.  He walked back towards the storage locker, grabbing the last remaining communicator (the weapons, he noticed, were picked clean) and turned it on.

 

"This is Chen, is everyone out?"  
_"All present and accounted for,"_  came the immediate response from Baekhyun.   _"We're all waiting for you."_  
"How sweet," he scoffed.  "I just set the last charge.  Are you a safe enough distance away?"  
_"Probably not, but we want to watch it go."_

 

_Brat.  No wonder you're Joonmyun's favorite._   Jongdae rolled his eyes and activated the main charge.  He checked his detonator, waiting for all the indicator lights to turn on before gathering his things and carefully making his way out.  He moved his way back towards the store front, now trashed by SHINee, and moved out the back entrance, already seeing the slight reflection of the police lights.  Before he left the bakery for good, he cut a gas line to cover up his own trail.

 

He snuck around the grounds and made it across the way without being seen, making the final climb up to where Baekhyun and his team were.

 

_His team..._

 

He gave a small smile at the thought.  "Best way to send him off, don't you think?"  
"He wouldn't have it any other way."

 

Jongdae nodded at Baekhyun and flipped the cover on the detonator, looking out over the scene as he began the countdown.

 

"Five."

He was overwhelmed with emotions now.  He's torn down many buildings in this line of work, but nothing ever this personal.

"Four."

He knew Baekhyun was looking at everyone else during this.  He knew he was taking everything in, everyone's emotions, the atmosphere.  This was to be his fuel to finish off Park Chanyeol.

"Three."

The coroner was on the scene and carefully moving Joonmyun away.  He wanted so badly to go down there and scream at them for touching him.

"Two."

Baekhyun's mumble didn't go unheard.  Although quiet, he heard him say goodbye loud and clear.

"One."

He pushed the button on the detonator, and like clockwork the agency came down.  The police and the first responders all moved away from the scene in a panic, rushing to get away without getting hurt or caught in the explosion.  He looked around at his team, noticing how they all stayed rooted in their positions.  They were going to wait this out.

 

Jongdae finally got a good look at everyone, got a good look at their eyes.  They all looked the same, determination being the main emotion reading across them all.  He couldn't help the small smile cross his features, and he hoped everyone missed it as they watched the firefighters try to put out the residual flames from the explosion.  Joonmyun raised this team well, trained them properly, and Jongdae would be damned if he didn't keep that going.  This was his team now, his agency, and Joonmyun's legacy would live on through him.

 

As the smoke finally cleared, and everyone moved out on their mission, Jongdae and Kyungsoo moved towards the safe house to set up the new head quarters.  He could sense the millions of questions on Kyungsoo's tongue, but was surprised with the one he chose.

 

"Are you okay?"

 

Jongdae let a chuckle slip.  Of all the questions, it was that one.

 

"Yeah, this was just a little too close to home."

 

Kyungsoo nodded in agreement, and they made the rest of the trip in silence.

 

_Close to home, indeed._


End file.
